Dec. 19, 2006

Box Score

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Following a suspected game-winning jumper by Southeast Missouri's Roderick Pearson with seven seconds remaining Tuesday, Samford's Jerry Smith took the ball the length of the court and laid the ball in with 2.7 seconds to give the Bulldogs their second buzzer-beating win of the young Ohio Valley Conference season.

Samford (4-4, 2-0 OVC) opened conference play on Dec. 7 with a game-winning 3-point shot from Joe Ross Merritt with 3.5 second left to defeat Jacksonville State.

With Tuesday's win, the Bulldogs are tied with Tennessee State for first place in the conference and the teams are the only undefeated squads in the OVC. Samford will continue its road trip Thursday against Murray State.

The Bulldogs' Smith led all scorers with 24 points and he tallied 15 of his total in the second half of play, including the game-winning shot. He also finished with game-high totals in rebounds (8), assists (6) and steals (2).

Samford's Randall Gulina added 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. He also pulled down five rebounds and connected on three 3-point baskets.

"This was a hard-fought win for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I have to give a lot of credit to Southeast Missouri. They played well tonight and if they continue to play like that, then they are going to win a lot of games in the conference this season. I thought that our guys fought hard and I have to give a lot of credit to Jerry (Smith). He had a great game."

With Samford leading 64-63 with 15 seconds remaining in the game, the Bulldogs' Merritt missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Southeast Missouri (3-9, 1-4 OVC) grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up the court. With 10 seconds left in regulation, the Redhawks found Roderick Pearson at the top of the key. Pearson drove the lane and connected on a five-foot jumper with seven seconds remaining. Pearson led Southeast Missouri with 18 points in 36 minutes of play.

Despite having one timeout left, Samford's Jason Black smartly inbounded the ball to Smith who ran his way around three Redhawk defenders and scored on the game-winning, double-pump layup with 2.7 seconds remaining. Southeast Missouri then turned the ball over on the final possession.

"I was really proud of our players and the way they played tonight," Tillette said. "They never gave up, even when we were down, and they fought hard the entire time. We played with a lot of heart and we have to make sure that we keep up our intensity in our upcoming game against Murray State."

At halftime, Samford trailed the Redhawks, 29-25.

The Bulldogs opened the game with an 8-3 advantage, but Southeast Missouri quickly responded with a 13-5 run to take a 16-13 lead at the 10:57 mark. The Redhawks connected on four 3-point field goals during the stretch, two from Terrick Willoughby and a pair from Pearson.

Samford was led in scoring by Smith's nine first-half points. The Bulldogs' senior point guard shot 4-of-6 from the floor and drained a key 3-point basket midway through the half.

The Bulldogs' redshirt freshman Bryan Friday scored a career-high eight points in the first 20 minutes of play Tuesday. He notched his first basket of the game with a running baseline layup as the shot clock was expiring and then hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. Later in the first half, Friday knocked down another 3-point shot.

Samford shot a solid 55.6 percent from the field in the first half, but only connected on 33.3 percent of its 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs were also forced into seven turnovers in the opening period.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday as the Bulldogs continue their road trip against the defending OVC champion Murray State at 7 p.m., at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray, Ky.